Chinese firm to launch Arctic shipping route till Oct
BEIJING: A Chinese shipowner is set to begin the first weekly container service through the Arctic on an express route to Europe this Saturday, making the voyages until October and prompting concerns over vessels warming polar ice. The company, Sea Legend, tested the premise last year when it completed the first China-to-Europe container ship transit through the frigid Northern Sea Route (NSR)…
China's Sea Legend shipping company plans to launch weekly container services through the Arctic's Northern Sea Route (NSR) until October 3, according to the source. This marks the first time a regular container service will operate on the route, which extends from eastern China to the English port of Felixstowe. The journey, which took 20 days from Ningbo to Felixstowe last year, could potentially cut transit times by half compared to the Suez Canal route.
Sea Legend's ship, "Dubai Tower," is set to depart from Ningbo on Saturday night, bound for Felixstowe. While Denmark's Maersk was the first to transit the Arctic passage in 2018, the NSR saw a record 23 container transits in 2025, up from 15 in 2024. However, many shipping firms have chosen to avoid regular Arctic shipping due to the risk of accelerating ice melting.
Major carriers such as CMA CGM, MSC, and Hapag-Lloyd have signed a pledge to avoid Arctic trans-shipment routes. Despite the potential time savings, the Arctic route carries environmental risks and represents a niche market, accounting for less than 0.5 percent of weekly container volume from East and Southeast Asia to North Europe, according to analysts.
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